putting together DIY items

Sunday, January 08, 2012

Why is it that no matter what DYI item you purchase, it's never easy to put together the "some assembly required" item? I always start in the best of moods, looking forward to the great product I'm going to get and enjoy. The first step is discovering the missing items excluded from the package. This is followed up with the holes that don't line up and the screws that are the wrong size. I am almost at the point of always paying someone to put it together, until I realize that that usually costs money I don't have. Isn't that what a DYI project is all about--saving money? Last week I did it again. And ran into the same problems. After going to the local hardware store to pick up another screw (to replace the one I stripped trying to put part A into slot B) I discovered, they didn't have it and the alternative they sold me is too small. Fortunately, the company that sold me the item agreed to send me an additional screw. I only needed one, asked for two or three and got one and It only took four days to get here. By then, my enthusiasm for this wonderful product had waned a little. But the one screw worked and I'm ready to finish. I now have four legs on which to put the rest of the pieces. Here's hoping the rest of the effort goes more smoothly and I can once again enjoy the fruits of my DYI labors.

You know I think you could compare this to a lot of weight loss plans. The marketing always sounds like only a moderate effort is required because the plan does all the rest. When you buy into it, you realize that once again it's basically exercise and "diet". And of course you dream about the fantastic product you will have at the end (a new healthier, slimmer you) and then you discover that the journey is not easy. Those exercises tire you out, make you moan in pain and frustration; but if you stick it out, you feel better in the end. The food is bland and tasteless, not at all like the cookies, greasy food and carbs that you are used to; but eventually you learn to adapt. If you stick it out, the resulting product is well worth the effort.